A former deputy police chief in Foshan, Guangdong is under investigation by officials after an online posting accused him of owning assets worth at least 100 million yuan (HK$123.42 million).

Zhou Xikai, 41, the current deputy director of the district's public security bureau, has been accused of owning several properties across the district of Shunde, including two homes valued at more than 60 million yuan and a number of workshops and stores valued at 30 million yuan, the Nanfang Daily reported.

The Shunde Discipline Inspection Committee is conducting the inquiry.

The investigation was announced after an anonymous letter was posted on Tianya.cn a popular web portal, on Friday and sparked a public outcry in a matter of hours.

The committee quickly released a brief statement later that night, saying authorities were aware of the allegations made in the letter and that an investigation team would be immediately set up.

Meanwhile, Xinhua yesterday confirmed an earlier report by the Sunday Morning Post that Liang Daoxing , 63, director general of the 2011 Universiade Executive Office and a former deputy mayor of Shenzhen, was under investigation by the graft watchdog for "serious violation of party discipline" which usually refers to corruption. No details were given about the probe by the government, but it is widely believed to be linked with the expenses of the Universiade Games.

Corruption among officials was a dominant topic at the recently concluded party congress.

The new chief of the anti-graft watchdog, Wang Qishan , met academics on Friday in Beijing, and asked for ideas about how to better tackle the problem.

According to Xinhua, Wang said disciplinary bodies at all levels would be steadfast in targeting officials who bent the law for their own personal gain. One scholar urged Wang to require all party cadres to publicly state their assets, instead of making only an internal declaration.

The inquiry into Zhou's finances emerged after citizens posted claims online about properties they believed belonged to corrupt officials, making it the fourth case of its kind in two months.

A senior village official in Shenzhen, Zhou Weisi , was suspended from his post on Tuesday and is under investigation after a handful of people accused him of owning assets worth more than 2 billion yuan in an open letter that appeared online on November 25.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Ex-deputy police chief probed over vast fortune